Dredger.



T. BARNETT.

DREDGER.

APPLIUATION FILED SEPT. 13, 1909. 978,540. Patented Dec. 13, 1910.

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DREDGBR. APPLIOATIOE IIIJJD BEPT.13, 1909.

978,540. Patented Dec. 13,1910.

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THOMAS BARNETT, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

DREDGER.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 13, 1910.

Application filed September 13, 1909. Serial No. 517,474.

4 To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS BARNn'r'r, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city and county of San Francisco and State ofCalifornia, have invented new and useful Improvements in Dredgers, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates to digging and dredging apparatus.

It consists in a combination of parts, and in details of constructionwhich will be more fully explained by reference to-the accompanyingdrawings, in whichw Figure 1 is a perspective view of the device. Fig. 2is a sectional detail of the turnable tower. Fig. 3 is a diagrammaticview of the device in use.

It is the object of my invention to provide an apparatus which iscapable of excavating material either located beneath the surface ofwater, or where little or no water is present, such apparatus being soflexibly mounted that it is capable of excavating material at anydesired point, and transferring and discharging it to a very4considerable distance from the point of excavation.

I have shown my apparatus as mounted upon a boat or float A for use as adredger, but it will be manifest that the carriage or support for theapparatus may be capable of progression over the land when such use isdesirable. The boat or float A may be made rectangular and preferablymade square, and the apparatus is centrally mounted with relation to theboat so that it may be turned to any desired point with relationthereto. The float may be anchored and kept stationary by means of pilesor spuds 2 which will be driven into the mud at the point selected foroperation.

The boat may be designed to receive the dredgings if desired, or boatsor transfer barges may be brought up alongside of the dre ge boat anddischarge made into such barges. If it be desired to deposit thedredgings to form a filling or levee, the apparatus, after being loaded,may be turned to the desired point of discharge.

The dredging apparatus mounted upon a sufficiently strong platform ortower. In the present case I have shown a platform 3 having a stoutcentral post or mast 4L projecting upwardly and forming the center aboutwhich the supporting and turnable tower 5 is movable. This tower may bemade in any suitable manner. As here shown it comprises stout postssupported upon a circular platform 6 which is turnable'about the centralpost, and rests upon bearing rollers 7 which are journaled and carriedupon a base, and turnable upon radially disposed shafts or axes.

The circular platform may be turned by the application of power from anengine, or other suitable motor. I have here illustrated the turningmechanism as consisting of a gear 9 fixed to the central post 4, and apinion 10 meshing with the gear, and through which the power may beapplied. It will be understood however that any suitable, desired, ormechanical device may be employed for this purpose.

The dredging apparatus consists of a frame-work comprising parallel bars11 which are hinged te the tower or support 5, and turn about ahorizontal journal-shaft so that this frame-work may be tilted up anddown about said shaft 0r support.

12 is a rectangular frame-work which may be made of angle, channel, orother form of steel bars strongly braced and united, as by cross bars13, or equivalent connections. This frame-work is slidable within theframe-work 11 so that it may be extended or drawn up at pleasure. Theframe-work 11 is provided with horizontally journaled rollers 14 betweenwhich the frame-work 12 is slidable, and exterior rollers 15 againstwhich the outer sides of the frame-work 12 contact so that in moving thefrainework 12 within the supporting frame 11, the least possiblefriction will take place.

16 is the dredge bucket which I have here shown eccentrically pivotedbetween the lower ends of the frame bars 12. This bucket is made of a Dshape, and it has a lower cutting edge 17 which may be made either plainor serrated, depending upon the character of the material to be operatedupon. To the upper lip of the bucket is connected a rod 18 and thisconnects with one arm of the lever 19 fulcrumed upon the sliding frame12. This lever has the other arm projecting so as to be engaged by astop upon the main frame 11 to dump the load of the bucket as will behereafter described.

In order to operate the device, it will be understood that the guideframe 11 must be set at such an angle as to allow the bucket to reachthe bottom or surface to be operated upon, when the frame-work 12 placeby is allowed to slide downwardly and outther tilted to raise the bucketclear of possiwardly between its guiding rollers. In order to controlthis apparatus I have shown segmental racks 2O connected with the upperend of the main frame 11, and having suitable pawl engagements upon thetower or support 5. Power may be applied to tilt the frame 11 in anysuitable manner not specifically here shown, and when this frame is atthe desired angle the bucket-carrying frame 12 is allowed to slidedownwardly until the bucket strikes the surface to be excavated.

The shape of the bucket and its pivoting` are such that as soon as thebottom or outer surface of the bucket strikes the bottom, it will beimmediately tilted about its pivots so as to bring the cutting edge 17in position to excavate the material and fill the bucket. The link, 18,is connected to the outer lip of the bucket and prevents the bucket fromdropping any lower on accountof the engagement of the lever, 19, withits pivot strap, as shown in Fig. 1. This takes place as soon as thecarrying-frame or ladder 12 begins to be retracted. The retraction ofthis bucket-carrying ladder will 1 immediately fill the bucket, and asit is drawn upward along the guiding frame, the bucket will resume itsnormal upright position, and retain this position until it is desired todischarge.v The discharge takes the contact of the long arm of the lever19 with a lug or stop 21 which is adjustably fixed upon the main guideframe 11. Thus if it is desired to discharge the load into the dredgeboat itself, the stop 21 is moved upwardly to a point where the leverwill not contact the stop until the dredge bucket has arrived at a pointvert-ically above the interior of the boat. Tf it be desired todischarge it upon a lighter, or barge, or at some other point where thedeposit is desired, and exterior to the dredge boat, the stop is moveddownwardly so that the lever will contact with it before the bucket hasreached the line of the boat.

' In order to move the bucket-carrying ladder I have shown a windlass 22which may represent any suitable winding apparatus to which power may beapplied from a suitable motor not shown. Around this windlass or drumpasses a heavy wire cable or chain 23, thence over guide pulleys 24, anddown to a point of attachment upon the movable ladder or frame 12. Itwill thus be seen that by winding or unwinding the cable upon itswindlass or drum, the ladder may be drawn up or extended at will. Anysuitable pawl and ratchet or locking mechanism, as illustrated at 25,may be employed to retain the ladder and bucket at any degsired point ofelevation so that after having been loaded and drawn up to the desiredelevation, the apparatus may be still furble obstructions by means ofthe mechanism previously described for vertical tilting of the frame 11.Then by means of the turning mechanism illustrated at 9 and 10, thewhole apparatus may be turned about the tower or support and the bucketprojected to any desired point of discharge. 1t will thus be seen that avery fiexible apparatus is produced. The main supporting tower beingturnable around a full 360 of the circle about its verticaljournal-post, the frame-work in which the bucket-carrying ladder isslidable may also be tilted from approximately a horizontal position toany desired angle of declination whereby the ladder may be extended, andthe bucket carried to any point from which the material is to be taken.The bucket itself, by reason of its buoyancy when empty, produces acushioning effect so that the ladder may be allowed to slidev out veryrapidly, and the bucket striking the water will arrest and check themovement, allowing the remainder ofthe movement after the bucket issubmerged, to continue somewhat more slowly, until it reaches the pointwhere the work is to be done.V Tf the ground is stiff or hard clay, orfriable rock, the bucket may be armed with projecting spikes or teeth onthe lower or bottom sides or edges, so that by allowing the ladder toslide outwardly at a considerable speed, the weight of the ladder andthe bucket will cause the spikes to enter and loosen the material,breaking it up so that the bucket will afterward be able to load itselfwhen the apparatus is drawn upward as previously described.

Having thus described my invention, what l c laiin and desire to secureby Letters Patent is- 1. The combination in a dredging and diggingapparatus, of a support and inclined frame-work carried thereon, aslidable frame or ladder movable in line with the firstnamed frame-work,a bucket horizontally and eccentrically journaled at the lower end ofthe ladder so that a rearward movement of the ladder automatically turnsand loads the bucket, and means for raising the ladder, and dischargingthe bucket.

2. The combination in a dredging and digging apparatus, of a mainsupport, a tower turnable about a vertical axis, a guiding frame hingedto said tower, means by which the frame may be tilted in a verticalplane, a ladder guided and slidable within said frame, a buckethorizontally and eccentrically journaled at the lower end of the ladderso that a rearward movement of the ladder automatically turns and loadsthe bucket, mechanism by which the ladder is retracted and the bucketloaded, a lever carried upon the ladder and means connecting the leverwith the bucket, and an adjustable stop on the guiding frame with whichthe lever contacts when the ladder is drawn upward, and the bucket istilted and discharged.

3. The combination in a dredging and digging apparatus, of a dredgeboat, and means for fixing said boat in position, a tower or supportmounted upon the boat and turnable about a vertical axis, a guide frame,a horizontal hinged shaft upon the tower about which the frame istiltable, means to lock it at any desired angle, a ladder guided andslidable within the tiltable frame, a D-shaped bucket eccentricallypivoted to the lower end of the ladder, so that a rearward movement ofthe ladder automatically turns and loads the bucket, said bucket havinga cutting or excavatingedge, mechanism by which the ladder is lowered inthe angular direction of its support to cause the bucket to contact withthe surface to be excavated, means by which the ladder is retracted tofill the bucket and afterward raise it above the surface, mechanism bywhich the tower or support may be turned about the vertical axis todirect the ladder and bucket to any desired point of discharge.

4. The combination in a dredge and digger, of a boat, a support and atower located l upon said boat, a turntable movable upon rollers, andmechanism whereby the tower may be revolved about its vertical axis, aguide frame hinged to the tower to raise and lower in a vertical plane,said frame having rollers, a ladder guided and slidable between saidrollers, a D-shaped bucket eccentrically hinged to the lower end of theladder having a cutting edge whereby it is capable of being drawn alongthe bottom and filled, mechanism by which the ladder is allowed toextend by gravitation, mechanism by which the guide frame of the laddermay be tilted about its axis of support to raise or lower the bucket,locking mechanism to retain the parts at any point of adjustment, andmechanism consisting of a fulcrumed lever connected to and movable withthe bucket and ladder, and a fixed stop whereby the bucket may beautomatically tilted.

5. The combination in a dredging and digging apparatus, of a guidedslidable ladder, means to change its angle of sliding movement, ahorizontally journaled bucket carried at the lower end of the ladder,the journal of the bucket being eccentrically placed whereby a rearwardmovement of 'the ladder automatically turns and loads said bucket, andmeans by which said bucket is reversed and emptied.

6. The combination in a dredging and digging apparatus, of a guidedslidable ladder, a D-shaped bucket horizontally and eccentricallyjournaled at the lower end of the ladder, so that a rearward movement ofthe ladder automatically turns and loads the bucket, and mechanismactuated by the upward movement of the ladder whereby the bucket isautomatically turned and discharged.

7 The combination with a dredging and digging apparatus, of a segmentalor D- shaped bucket, a ladder or frame, eccentrically located pivotsabout which the bucket is horizontally turnable in the frame, saidpivoting means acting to turn the bucket and present its mouth to beloaded when the bucket contacts with the surface, and returning thebucket to an upright position when it is raised from the surface, andmeans for limiting the lowering movement of the bucket about its pivots.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

THOMAS BARNETT. litnesses Gno. H. STRONG, CHARLES A. PENFIELD.

